Archie vs Lovable

Archie

Archie's differentiator is splitting the work between an architecture agent and a design agent, and letting you switch between prompting, a visual canvas and your own IDE on the same project. That suits people who start conversationally and finish in code. It only reached general availability in August 2026, and the real cost has more layers than the $25 Pro headline: credit levels, a one-time fee to turn a prototype into a deployed app, and hosting for any backend beyond the included one.

Pros

• +Distinct architecture and design agents rather than one generalist generator
• +Three ways to drive the same project: prompt, visual editor, or IDE
• +Free Starter tier with 50 credits a month and no card required
• +Pooled team credits instead of per-seat allowances that expire unused
• +Top-up packs get cheaper per credit at volume, down to about $0.088

Cons

• −Converting a prototype into a deployed app costs a one-time fee the pricing page does not quantify
• −Team billing requires a minimum of five seats at $30 each, which prices out individuals
• −General availability only in August 2026 - almost no track record
• −The plan cards showed $0/mo when we fetched the page; the real prices appear only in the FAQ

Lovable

The cleanest prompt-to-app experience for someone who cannot write React, and GitHub sync means you are not locked in — but 100 credits a month is less runway than it sounds once the app gets real.

Pros

• +Live preview after each change keeps iteration legible to non-developers
• +GitHub sync and Supabase mean the output is real, portable code
• +The free tier is enough to find out whether the idea works
• +Per-action credit costs are published, so estimating is possible

Cons

• −Free tier caps at 30 credits a month regardless of the daily grant
• −Debugging a bad generation can cost more credits than the original build
• −Opinionated stack — React front end, Supabase back end, little room to differ
• −API access is reserved for the Business tier, which charges double Pro's price per credit

Is Archie cheaper than Lovable?

Both publish the same entry price, $25/mo. The difference is what each plan includes, which the fact table above sets side by side.

Does Archie or Lovable have a free tier?

Both: Archie has a free tier, and Lovable has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Archie or Lovable?

Lovable ships a public API, as of our last verification. A public API for Archie is not confirmed by us — check its developer docs before you plan an integration.